In a move that has been slammed as an affront to press freedom, Malaysian authorities raided Al Jazeera’s office in Kuala Lumpur, following the Qatar-based broadcaster’s documentary on the plight of migrants in Malaysia during the coronavirus pandemic.

The documentary, Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown, looks into the discrimination and detention of migrant workers in the country, especially undocumented ones who are estimated to be around 4 million.

The report also featured migrants-supplied videos that show migrants cramped in government trucks and people handcuffed by authorities – counterproductive measures in addressing the spread of COVID-19. (READ: What you can do to stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic)

The documentary also presented the government’s denial of wrongdoing.

“We put them in the best place to care for their health. So to say that the Malaysian government is cruel to the undocumented migrants is not right,” Defense Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in a press conference shown in the documentary. 

“No matter how we treat them, they are undocumented migrants. They have no rights to be in our country because they entered illegally,” Yaakob added.

The government earlier offered amnesty to undocumented migrants and said they could come forward to be tested for COVID-19. This, however, proved to be a trap.

As a result, many undocumented migrants have refused to go to hospitals to be tested and treated, for fear of being caught.

Malaysia is home to millions of migrant workers – many of whom enter legally but end up being undocumented due to employer and agency abuse, among others. (READ: Undocumented migrant workers: Hidden and helpless in ASEAN)

Watch the controversial documentary here:

Declining press freedom

The government slammed the documentary as misleading and inaccurate. Malaysian police are investigating the broadcaster for allegedly breaking laws on sedition, defamation, and transmitting offensive content.

Seven Al Jazeera journalists, including 5 Australians, were called in for questioning in July, while a Bangladeshi migrant worker interviewed in the program had been arrested.

Malaysian authorities have also refused to renew the work visas of two of the network’s Australian journalists, just days after the raid.

Malaysia ranked 101st among 180 countries in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index.

Concerns about a worsening media climate have been growing since a scandal-plagued political party seized power as part of a coalition earlier this year, following the collapse of a reformist administration.

Leading independent news portal Malaysiakini has also been taken to court for alleged contempt over readers’ comments on its site critical of the judiciary. 

– with a report from Agence France Presse/Rappler.com